Sunday, February 08, 2009

A Tribute to My Dreamcast

Yes, it’s finally time to say goodbye to Sega’s revolutionary white box. While I got into Dreamcast fever rather late (in 2004, when games for the console were long out of production), I still had a blast with it. Picking it up for a mere $9.99 at my local EBGames (a game store that was actually – gasp!- good) along with a few cheapie games, a blue VMU, and an extra controller, I brought the Dreamcast home a played it well into the night.

Perhaps the most fun of all was going from second hand game store to store and finding the most desirable games for the platform. Since I got into the console late and didn’t purchase games online during this time period, it was fun going from city to city and not knowing what you’d end up with. Coming home with a mint copy of Power Stone or Street Fighter Alpha 3 meant that I had a good run.

Although collecting games for the platform was enjoyable, I can’t forget about the gameplay aspect of the games. Street Fighter Alpha 3 was one I played with friends until the wee hours of the morning, Sonic Adventure 2 provided some of the best platforming action of its time period, and Virtua Tennis was an undeniably addictive tennis simulation.

Fast forward a few years later, however, and my Dreamcast has been ignored for quite some time. Sitting in a box in my dark closet and getting no love whatsoever, possibly jealous of all of the attention my new-fangled Wii’s and 360’s are getting.

I decided that it’s finally time to give this console a new home.

I listed all of the games and the console online for sale, and now I’m just waiting for a buyer. It’s not all bad news, though. Not only will I get some extra dough and save space, but I’ll be able to repurchase many of the best games for the console on other platforms. I’ll always miss Sega’s gorgeous final console, but the games and memories of it will live on.

Gnome, well, I do have Crazy Taxi 3 on the Xbox which essentially contains all three games in one. Ikaruga was unfortunately never released on the DC over here, but I can still get it on the Gamecube or even the Xbox Live Arcade... Dammit, I never even tried Seaman while I had a DC... I guess that's one that can't be replaced.

Deitrix, it sure is a nice one. I'll have to re-buy some of the games for it on other consoles.

Funnyman, hopefully they'll at least re-release the first two with online play on the Xbox Live Marketplace or PSN.

アドリエン, I sure hope it does! However, they haven't given me feedback for the transaction yet...

DigitalSpace, good to see you back! I haven't seen you around here or on CAG lately. Where do you get your DC games? The only B&M store that sells them around here is grossly overpriced. Then again, you can order basically anything online...

By the way, I'd be very interested in your new Retro Gaming blog. I can't wait to see it once it gets off the ground.